I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 17

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Bai Feifei was also constantly running around—implementing the old contract, signing and entering the new one, including cleaning up the mess left behind by the original owner that couldn’t be completed.

By the time everything was done, she was so tired she could only gasp for air.

On the road.

Fu Xiaoxiao was driving, and Bai Xue was in the passenger seat looking at her phone, her fingers rapidly tapping on the keyboard. The clatter of the keys was endless, a little hypnotic.

Fu Xiaoxiao checked the route. They still had an hour and a half to go before they arrived. She shouted to the back, “Babe, do you want soy milk? With sugar!”

“No,” Bai Feifei lay back with her eyes closed. “Let me sleep.”

“Okay,” Fu Xiaoxiao responded and handed the warm soy milk to Bai Xue. “Auntie Xue, you drink it. It’s a waste if you don’t.”

Bai Xue took it and couldn’t help but smile.

Fu Xiaoxiao was probably the most down-to-earth second-generation rich person she had ever met. In the morning, she would squeeze in front of a small stall with countless grandparents sending their children to school to grab fried dough sticks and soy milk. She would also plan all her breakfast expenses in advance to save time, preparing the exact change before throwing it in.

She was very similar to her mother, Ms. Xi Rong, but also not. She had a better temper than Xi Rong and was happier and livelier, very much like Bai Feifei.

“Let Feifei rest for a while. She has a lot of work to do on the set today,” Bai Xue said. “But modern dramas are easier to handle. There’s nothing extra; it’s almost all dialogue-based scenes… Feifei’s line delivery is not bad. I gave her a clip to try before, and there shouldn’t be any big problems.”

As she spoke, she looked back and happened to see Bai Feifei with her eyes curved, smiling at her phone screen. It was the middle of summer, and the sky wasn’t even bright yet. It was a little after four in the morning… What could she have seen that made her so happy?

Bai Xue smiled, shook her head, and looked away.

Huo Wu’s gaze went over the barrier and looked at the dense crowd not far away.

She asked, “How many people are here today?”

“A rough estimate is that about two hundred people have come today. Ten people with special invitations have not confirmed their time yet, so they probably won’t be able to come today,” Ji Meng paused, and took a sheet out of a folder. “Director Li Ke is already in the waiting room, still looking at the actors’ profiles.”

Huo Wu’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. “What did he say?”

Ji Meng shook her head. “It’s hard to say. Director Li Ke has never had a specific target when it comes to casting. When he’s facing the public, he only says ‘spirited,’ but these two words are the most elusive. Many people are quirky little sprites in real life, but as soon as they’re on camera, they look like a corpse. Nothing feels right, and this can’t be coached.”

Ji Meng glanced at Huo Wu and then at the time. “Ready for makeup?”

“No,” Huo Wu said. “The audition requires a bare face. I’m also participating, so there’s no need for me to have special treatment.”

Ji Meng just smiled.

She looked at Huo Wu’s face and couldn’t help but sigh that some people were just naturally gifted.

Many people don’t look good on camera, mostly because their makeup is ‘eaten’ by the lens—but not Huo Wu. Her features were exquisite, and her facial structure was very distinct. Her nose, in particular, was very straight, and she could handle both frontal and side shots very well. Many female artists in the industry can’t handle too much makeup due to their facial features, so they just get semi-permanent makeup. Huo Wu doesn’t need it. Her eyebrows are thick and dense, and on camera, they make people exclaim, ‘She’s a goddess,’ let alone in real life.

If a beauty like her appeared on the street, not many people would be able to control their eyes.

Ji Meng suddenly thought of the candid photo of Bai Feifei that had gone viral on social media. Sometimes, being pretty really did mean you could do whatever you wanted. With a face like that, who could bear to say “no?”

Huo Wu’s gaze was still on the periphery, not settling on one point for a long time.

TV series don’t usually have the same level of secrecy as movies, but because of the special subject matter of this one, the crew’s confidentiality work had been in overdrive since the initial casting.

The audition was held indoors, with no props. Even so, a barrier was set up over ten meters away, with someone guarding it every five meters, and curtains were also pulled around the area.

When Huo Wu first showed the script to Director Li Ke, she said frankly that she was aiming for an award.

Li Ke had a sharp eye for people, and his casting was a masterpiece. When Huo Wu gave him this script, on one hand, she wanted to lay a foundation for her formal transition to working behind the scenes. On the other hand, she genuinely wanted to complete this script with the highest level of perfection.

“What are you looking at?” Ji Meng waved her hand in front of Huo Wu’s face and handed her a bottle of plain water. “It’s time to go. For this drama, only one female lead has been confirmed, and that’s you. The female lead for the second part has a lot of options. I see a lot of students from film schools outside. Some even came in their school uniforms.”

“School uniforms?” Huo Wu chuckled. “That’s the most useless brand. Li Ke never looks at that.”

“People who haven’t worked with him don’t know this rule,” Ji Meng shrugged. “They all want to brand themselves to at least have a decent front.”

Huo Wu asked her, “What time is it?”

Ji Meng looked at her phone. “8:05. The event starts at 8:30.”

Huo Wu was silent for a moment, and then she drank the water in the bottle in one gulp. Afterward, she sat in her seat, pulled her mask up, and closed her eyes as if she were taking a catnap to recharge her energy.

Ji Meng thought she wouldn’t say anything more. Who knew that after a while, Huo Wu would suddenly open her eyes, agitated. She frowned and said, “Give me your phone.”

Ji Meng was puzzled, but she still gave it to her.

Huo Wu looked at the phone.

The WeChat chat list was quiet, with no new messages.

Her face turned cold, and then she opened Bai Feifei’s chat.

The last message was from the early hours of yesterday morning.

Bai Feifei had sent her a picture of a bouquet of lilies—that bouquet was already in her waiting room this morning. Following that was a cute sticker with plump letters and a milky-white dumpling, spelling out four big characters: “Giving You Happiness.”

Besides that, there were no other messages.

She turned off her phone and said in a low voice as she handed it to Ji Meng, “Does Bai Xue know the audition is today? Does she know she’s number nine?”

Ji Meng realized something and glanced at the young girls who were already taking their numbers and walking in. Her voice paused as she said, “She knows. I told her. I even confirmed it again last night—”

Ji Meng took out her phone. There were no messages from Bai Xue either. As her agent, even if there was an accident, she should have coordinated with her immediately.

Huo Wu was silent for a moment and then suddenly chuckled. There was no emotion in her laugh, but Ji Meng knew it wasn’t a happy one.

Her gaze lingered on the one-by-one procession of vibrant young women who were queuing up to go inside. Finally, her smile disappeared, and she picked up the jacket that was draped over the chair. “Let’s go.”

She’s lying again.

All that talk about working hard for her, and not giving up… it was all talk. When it came down to it, she ran away at the last minute.

Huo Wu walked step by step toward the judges’ seats. After two steps, she suddenly reached out and held on to a pillar.

Ji Meng was startled and quickly reached out to support her. “What’s wrong? Low blood sugar?”

Huo Wu didn’t open her eyes. She just closed them and rested her forehead on her forearm. After about ten seconds, she recovered from the dizziness. She opened her eyes again and shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Just then, a commotion came from not far away.

Huo Wu didn’t have the energy to deal with it. She pulled her mask up and continued walking inside.

Ji Meng noticed something. She paused for a moment, and then pulled Huo Wu’s sleeve. She took a couple of quick steps and said, “Ah Wu, something’s wrong.”